Devin Gray

The Beat Freaks & Ralph Alessi
Mechanics of Nature
No Label No #

Virtuosic and inventive New York trumpeter Ralph Alessi has worked with everyone from Uri Caine to Michael Formanek as well his own bands. As the century progresses he’s also become involved in international projects like the ones here. Melt all the Guns II is a new chapter in the saga of Brookly/Berlin drummer Devin Gray’s trio with the trumpet and new member, French pianist Myslaure Augustin. Mechanics of Nature on the other hand links Alessi with the Polish-Danish Beat Freaks quartet of guitarist Michał Starkiewicz, bassist Flavio Gullotta, tenor saxophonist Tomasz Licak and drummer Radek Wośko.

Reflecting Gray’s sardonic swipe at the US’s obsession with firearms, the CD’s agit-prop is reflected in the quality of the music without vocalized slogans. Alessi’s effervescent brass command encompassing plunger tones, emphasized triplets, grace note patterning and bellicose squeezes advances the 11 compositions, all by Gray.

Plinking, patterning and pulsing in order to maintain a symmetrical groove as well as energy for thick horizontal pushing, Augustin acquits herself properly comping and creating riffs during her first international session. Meanwhile Gray, who has worked with musicians as disparate as Akira Sakata and Angelica Sanchez, breaks up his solid backbeat with pivots to cymbal cracks, subtle rim shots and horizontal pitter patter.

Alessi’s wizardry extends to how he can emphasize quasi-Baroque trumpet blasts that circle keyboard clips as he moves up the scale on “Audre Lorde Straẞe”, with same facility he brings to outputting brassy squeezes and half-valve slides on top of Gray’s unvarying ruffs on “Administration Rulez”. Also note the trio’s connective energy on “Political Technology”, whose narrative blends subtle drum paradiddles, lively key slaps and mid-range brass peeps. Later Alessi’s brass riffs ascend to squeezed flutters as the other two move down the scale.

On the extended title track slow moving, sombre piano stabs plus brass plunger smears undulate subtly up and down in tempo and pitch spurred by drum pops. After Alessi downshifts from triplets, the piece climaxes with a mixture of trumpet grace notes and processional piano pacing,

Unlike Melt all the Guns, created with familiar associates, Mechanics of Nature is a first-time meeting between the trumpet and the quartet. However there’s no grandstanding or feeling of star soloist with backing band. Starkiewicz, who composed nine of the 14 tracks here, and Licak work together often and comping textures from the bassist and drummer fit in as well.

Ironically it’s the track entitled “Broken” which best show this cooperation. Rubbed and slurred fingering from the guitarist and hard pummeling from the drummer frame the horns ascending and descending pitches. Brass triplets and note-bending reed squeaks develop into a contrapuntal challenge by the end.

With volume often pushing him to the background, Gullotta’s supple string movements move upfront during the introduction to “Lifeline (Interlude)”, where guitar strums and horn ascension are expressed in finished form on the subsequent “Lifeline”. Melded with field recordings of voices and automobile movement, the narrative is hammered out with brass triplets and sax snarls, carefully balancing noise and music. Further interaction from irregular drum patterns and harsh trumpet tonguing serves a similar function on “One Of The Last Derkacz” alongside the sounds of piercing sirens and loudspeaker announcements.

While some tracks reach prestissimo affiliations with buzzing accents from the bass and drums, guitar string whistles and horn vamps, not every exposition is as vigorous. For instance “Elephant Song” is a gentling ballad based around Starkiewicz’s adagio strums, note-bending tones from Alessi, Licak’s graceful harmonies and Gullotta’s responsive string thumps.

In familiar territory or intersecting with new playing partners, Alessi’s brass command shows why he’s one of the busiest trumpeters on the New York scene. His associates on both discs are no slouches as improvisers either.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Melt: 1. East Berlin 2024 2. Swing States 3. Administration Rulez 4. Melt All the Guns II 5. First Flight Out 6. More Meritocracy 7. Audre Lorde Straẞe 8. No More Walls 9. 77 Posaunen 10. Political Technology 11. Broom Lyfe

Personnel: Melt: Ralph Alessi (trumpet); Myslaure Augustin (piano) and Devin Gray (drums)

Track Listing: Mechanics: 1. Caldera De Los Cuervos 2. The Mechanics Of Nature 3. Broken 4. Mutating The Next Seed 5. A Walk Along 6. Quakes In Fukuoka 7. The Texture Of Life 8. Elephant Song 9. Lifeline (Interlude) 10. Lifeline 11. Frozen Blast 12. Jumping Pedestrian 13. One Of The Last Derkacz 14. Rustling Leaves, Turning Wheels

Personnel: Mechanics: Ralph Alessi (trumpet); Tomasz Licak (tenor saxophone); Michał Starkiewicz (guitar); Flavio Gullotta (bass) and Radek Wośko (drums)